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Columbia Academy

Headmasters Page


Dear Website Visitor,

At Columbia Academy, we successfully provide a safe, wholesome learning environment for your child. Our faculty, staff and parents work together to shape CA students into competent, productive, and worthy members of a rapidly-changing society and work place. The small class sizes and challenging curriculum keep CA students at an advantage for reaching their full potential. From academic clubs to sports teams to international travel opportunities, there is a place for every type of student at CA.

We apply strict guidelines regarding academic achievement, behavior on and off campus, and attitude to both faculty and students.  We believe holding a high standard for moral and ethical behavior makes for a richer educational experience for all.

We thank you for your interest in our school I welcome you to call for an appointment to tour the campus. Call us or send us an e-mail message so that we can answer your questions. I am looking forward to meeting you soon.

Sincerely,

Mr. Tom Porter

Headmaster

 


Letters and Articles

August 3, 2009

 

TO: Potential Donors

RE: Columbia Academy Fundraising Efforts

As you may know, Columbia Academy has now ended a very successful capital campaign. At this time we are changing gears and looking to start an annual fund to maintain the efforts that we started. During the capital campaign we hired an outside consulting company to assist us with our effort. The contract with that firm is now completed. Our new annual fund drive will be administered from within the school, and as with any project at Columbia Academy, will require many volunteer hours. In addition we are trying to keep the cost of the effort as low as possible.

We are certainly aware that there is much uncertainty with the economy. The amount of discretionary income that might be given to charitable causes is lower now than in the recent past. However, we feel that there is still an opportunity to help support Columbia Academy through fundraising. In order for us to keep our tuition affordable, everyone must make efforts to raise funds. As with most independent schools, tuition at Columbia Academy pays for more than ninety percent of our annual budget. The fundraising efforts that we undertake help pay for the margin of excellence that we strive for at Columbia Academy. The money that is raised through our efforts becomes a "scholarship" for every student at Columbia Academy because they benefit from the improvements provided.

The purpose of the annual fund primarily will be to help keep our tuition as affordable as possible, while also improving all aspects of the school. The annual fund goal for 2009/2010 is $125,000.00. Everyone should participate. Each donation is important regardless of size and makes an impact on students at our school. Please make a contribution yourself, and pass this letter and the enclosed information on to someone who you believe can be a benefit to our efforts. Certainly grandparents, other family members and friends have an interest in seeing that our children succeed.

I have enclosed a flyer that details the opportunities for giving at Columbia Academy. Additional copies are available in my office. In addition all of this information is available on our website www.cacougars.com under the "Development" section. If you should have any other comments or suggestions, please let me know. Please take time to make a contribution to the Annual Fund by check or by filling out the enclosed pledge form detailing your contribution. These should be sent to the above address or delivered to my office. I thank you for your attention in this matter.

Sincerely,

H. Tom Porter

 

July 24, 2009 

Dear Patrons:

I hope that everyone has had a good break. We have had another productive summer at the school and look forward to the next school year.  We now need to build upon our past growth and success.

I want to welcome our new students to CA.  We will have many new students that will be joining our CA family.  Enrollment now stands at 561.  This includes 102 kindergarten students, 225 students in grades 1-6, and 234 in grades 7-12.   Please continue to promote our school and the many good things that are happening here.  Enclosed please find a fact sheet about the school.  Make a commitment to pass this on to someone you know who has school age children. Each patron needs to be an ambassador for our school in their respective communities.   If I can be of further assistance in this regard please let me know.

There are many things that I want to discuss in this letter and I will take them one by one:

Work Day – August 1st 7:00 a.m. – Until

Our annual work day will be Saturday, August 1 beginning at 7:00 a.m. and continuing until we get tired and quit.  Usually we are done by mid-afternoon.  Everyone is encouraged to come help.  Not only do we get a lot of work done, but we get to visit and meet new faces coming to our school this year.  You can bring any type of yard and outside equipment from a rake to a tractor.  There are always plenty of weedeating opportunities.  Also pressure washers are useful.  If you should have any questions, please let me know.

Kindergarten Open-House-July 30

An open-house for K-3, K-4 and K-5 will be held on Thursday, July 30th at 6:00 pm.  At this event you will receive information on our kindergarten and be given an opportunity to ask questions.   This meeting will be held in the Fine Arts Center.

First Day of School – August 6

All students and visitors (grades K-12) will meet in the gym on Thursday, August 6, 2009, by 8:00 a.m.  We will have an opening assembly, and after that time the elementary will be dismissed to their rooms.  After elementary students meet their teachers, they will be free to leave.   Grades 7-12 will remain in the gym for additional instructions, and then we will run an abbreviated schedule.  Jr. high & high school will dismiss at 12:00 p.m.  August 7 will be a full day of school with the cafeteria open.

Traffic Diagram

Please review the enclosed traffic diagram   If you are coming in from the West you have an option to enter on the new entrance on Old Lakeview Road. Please do not impede the traffic exiting from the Lakeview subdivision.  This road is an entrance only and should be used only during high traffic times.

Cougar Store

Mrs. Sylvia Berry continues to run the Cougar Store, which is located in the gym.  Beginning August 3rd, she will open Monday thru Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  She continues to get new merchandise, such as uniform shirts and jackets that are in compliance with Columbia Academy’s dress code.

Cafeteria

The major physical plant activity this summer has been the renovation of the lunchroom.  As was announced at the end of the school year, we will once again operate the lunchroom ourselves.  Valley Food Services had operated it as an independent contractor for several years.  We have hired Mike Barber as the manager of the cafeteria.  Mike has run our concessions for the past year and a half and has many years of experience in the food service area.  Mike has worked hard this summer, not only in the renovation of the lunchroom but on other maintenance projects.  Although the dining area is virtually unchanged, the kitchen and storage area were completely renovated.  These renovations included electrical, plumbing, as well as carpentry work.  In addition, several new items of equipment have been purchased.  These improvements will make the cafeteria not only more efficient but also safer.  Enclosed in this mail-out is the information on the cafeteria.  Although there will be challenges with this endeavor, I look forward to working with Mike and his staff in improving the cafeteria.  I encourage each of you to support the cafeteria and be patient as we work out any issues that might arise. 

Welcome Back

July 24, 2009

Page 2

Staff

I am excited about the staff we have for this year.  Mr. Baxter White will begin his fourth year as Assistant Headmaster and Athletic Director.  Mr. White and I will have teaching duties again this year.   Mrs. Janet Burton will continue to serve as elementary coordinator.  Mrs. Mimi DeOrnellas continues to serve as our kindergarten coordinator which will have two K-5 and K-4 classes and one K-3 class.   Mrs. Belinda Teston will begin her fourth year as our counselor.

Our faculty will have only a few new faces this year.  Melanie Bass will be new in the position of a first grade teacher.  Melanie is a Columbia Academy graduate and has two children at our school.  Amy Johnson will teach junior high science.  She will have two children at our school.  Marianne Polk will teach junior high social studies.  Mrs. Polk has been a substitute at our school and has a master’s degree with over 30 years experience.  Finally, Beverly Hutson will teach high school history.  Ms. Hutson has over twenty years of experience in the public schools.  Please join me in welcoming these new teachers.  In addition, Christina Spell will move down to the fifth grade this year from junior high.

We have always been blessed to have great teachers and I ask that you continue to support them this year.

Academics

We continue to strengthen the curriculum at Columbia Academy.  Although I see promise with test scores, I feel that we need to continue to improve.  Please spend time with your students and encourage them daily in their work. If parents of students of all grades will keep themselves informed, many negative issues in student performance can be avoided.

In early 2006 the Mississippi Institutions for Higher Learning voted to increase the requirements for the college prep curriculum beginning with the class of 2010.  The MPSA and Columbia Academy raised requirements to meet the IHL standards.  The IHL then voted to delay implementation of the stronger requirements until the class of 2012.  Columbia Academy and the MPSA maintained the earlier decision for the stronger requirements beginning with the class of 2010.  A concerted effort should be made between the counselor, administration, student, and parents that all needs are met.   If you should have any questions about the graduation requirements, please contact the counselor.

I encourage everyone who has the ability to take the AP and advanced courses that we offer.  If we do not have adequate participation in these classes we will not be able to continue to offer them.

The following classes will receive weighted credit this year:

1st Period

Honors Algebra II- Middleton

AP American History-Fails

2nd Period

AP English-Terry

3rd Period

Honors Algebra I-Middleton

Honors English II-Watts

Honors Physics-Polk

4th Period

Honors Algebra III-Pearce (Dual Credit)

5th Period

Honors Trigonometry and Pre-Calculus-Middleton

If you want your student to be in these classes and they are not scheduled, please see the counselor.

A lot of time has been spent setting up the 7-12 schedules.  Care was taken to satisfy graduation and IHL requirements, as well as, challenging each student.  A form for schedule change request is available in the counselor’s office.  Valid reasons for the change must be stated as well as the parent’s signature.  All final changes will have to be approved by the headmaster.

Welcome Back

July 24, 2009

Page 3

Pizza Party and Meet the Cougars Night; August 11th

Once again the Booster Club will be sponsoring a pizza party in the cafeteria from 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. before Meet the Cougars Night.  Tickets for the Pizza Party are $5.00 and can be purchased in the Cougar Store or the business office. We invite all grades out to this event to enjoy pizza and meet the fall sports teams including all levels of football, fast-pitch softball, cheer, dance, and cross-country.

Athletics

I encourage you to support the athletic events at the school.  By the time school starts, many of our student athletes will be into their seasons including football, fast-pitch softball, and cross country.  Copies of schedules are included in the mail-out and the calendar on the website contains all games scheduled as of this date.

Jr.High Boys P.E.

For the second year junior high boys playing either basketball or football will be having their P.E. or activities period 1st period.  They will be required to be at school prior to 8:00 a.m.  The coaches will inform them of practice times.

Web-Site

We once again will be updating our web site (www.cacougars.com).  The monthly school calendar found there is up to date and useful.  We will continue to build upon our use of the on-line grading system.

Handbook

Due to the increased cost of publishing the student handbook annually, the handbook will only be published digitally on the web-site.  Students and parents will still sign the form indicating that they have reviewed the handbook and accept its terms.  If any student does not have access to a computer with internet, the school will print a copy of the handbook for the cost of $5.00.  Requests can be made with Myra Williams in my office.  The handbook with this year’s revisions will be available on the web-site on August 4.  The handbook forms are enclosed herein and should be signed and turned in by Wednesday, August 12, 2009.

Attendance

It is very important for students to be in school everyday.  Of course we realize that sickness and family crisis will arise.  However, any absence that is not a necessity hurts the student and inevitably causes the teacher additional time and effort.  Please review carefully the tardies, absences, and make-up portions of the handbook.  For the past several years we have had the policy that if a student goes over the maximum absences the time will be made up before receiving credit or passing.  This will continue to be enforced and has helped us keep unnecessary absences to a minimum.

Contributions

We have been successful over the past couple of years with our fundraising efforts.  However, only a small number of our patrons have made contributions.  I know that the economy is not favorable for contributions at this time, but I do ask that you keep the school in mind.  Additionally, if you have a family member that would be able to contribute, please pass the opportunity on to them.  If you have a specific item or project that you would like to contribute to, please let me know.  As I have said repeatedly we cannot continue to improve the opportunities that our students have by tuition alone.  The funds above tuition that are generated should be born by all patrons as they are able.

Finally, I ask that each of you pray for our school, its students, and staff. We want to have a safe school year where everyone grows mentally, physically, and spiritually.  If you should ever need to discuss anything, please do not hesitate to visit me.

Sincerely,

H. Tom Porter

Headmaster


Past Articles

Our jamboree was once again a success.  I want to thank all that worked to make it successful.  Certainly our staff works hard to make it happen but others do as well.  We have volunteers that do everything from painting the field to helping in the hospitality area.  I want to especially thank Ricky Dyess for once again cooking for the hospitality tent.  Other schools enjoy coming to our jamboree because of the food and the way they are treated during the event. 

Lordy, Lordy...! One thing I failed to mention in the opening assembly is that we turn 40 this year. Although the school had earlier history than the 1970 / 1971 school year, Columbia Academy as we know it today celebrates its 40th with this school year. Our seniors will be the 40th graduating class.

Meet the Cougars Night was very successful and well attended.  I enjoy supporting our student athletes and seeing the color.  There is not a better combination than orange, white and blue.  The level of participation in each activity is very impressive.  Our students are making lasting memories through these activities.   I want to thank Sylvia Berry for her work in getting the Pizza Party together and Sheryl DeAngelo and Jason Stringer for their work with the presentation in the gym.

I want to thank Julie Johnson and the Columbian Progress for the coverage they give not only to our school but to the others as well.  The new school year pictures were great including the front page picture of our students Olivia and Kendall.  That picture showed two pretty girls at opposite ends of the CA experience.  In addition the full page coverage of the meet the cougars night is much appreciated. 

Nostalgia!

Thanks to Ronnie Stewart for allowing us to display his football helmet from 1973. Ronnie was a senior that year and participated in the All-star game. The emblems on the helmet are hand - painted. Ronnie's helmet is in good shape for its age but pales in comparison to the $200.00 Revolution helmets most of our players wear today.

Sincerely,

Tom Porter

 

 

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